Indiana University Athletics
Three Home Matches for IU Volleyball This Weekend
9/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana University volleyball team enters the weekend having won six of their last seven matches and will host the TIS Bookstore Invitational. Friday's matches will be held at University Gym while Saturday's contests are slated to be played on Branch McCracken Court inside Assembly Hall.
Indiana begins on Friday with a 12:30 p.m. match versus George Mason, followed by a 7:30 p.m. showdown that evening against in-state rival Ball State. The Hoosiers conclude their weekend on Saturday at 3 p.m., taking on the Bearcats of Cincinnati. Admission for all matches in the invitational is free. Live audio broadcasts of every IU Volleyball match this season can be heard by visiting IUHoosiers.com and can be accessed via the volleyball schedule page.
BALL STATE CONNECTIONS
Three members of the IU Volleyball program have strong ties to Ball State, Indiana's in-state rival and Friday night opponent.
The Cox family name is well known in Muncie as Caitlin Cox's father, Tony, was an athletic trainer at Ball State for 20-plus years and her brother, Kyle, was a member of the Cardinal basketball and golf teams for three seasons.
Head Coach Sherry Dunbar and Assistant Coach Keith Schunzel both played for BSU. Dunbar was a four-year starter at middle blocker, ending her career as the school's all-time blocks leader. Schunzel was a three-year captain and 2004 second-team All-American setter. In his first season as captain, Schunzel led the Cardinals to an NCAA Final Four appearance in 2002.
RECORD BREAKING ALERT!!!
Seniors Juli Pierce and Erica Short are both closing in on career statistical totals that would rank as the greatest in IU Volleyball history. Pierce, who already holds the single-season record for digs with 481 in `07, is nearly certain to etch her name to the top of the career digs list this weekend. The former walk-on, is just 14 digs shy of Jen Magelssen (1995-98) and her 1,331 career digs. Pierce is currently second place all-time with her 1,317 digs.
Short has climbed into fourth place on the all-time kills list with 1,495 put-aways. The Orrville, Ohio native enters the weekend 313 kills away from matching Christina Archibald's (2001-04) top mark of 1,808 career kills.
THAT'S NOT ALL...
Sophomore Ashley Benson is also making her case to be placed in the IU record books with her .302 career hitting efficiency. Forty-one matches into her Hoosier career, Benson has connected on 378 kills on 875 attempts with 114 errors. If the Bloomington North High School product can simply maintain her .302 pace for her next 125 attempts (matching the 1,000 attempts min.), she would own the best career hitting percentage in school history.
BLOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF
For the season, Ashley Benson's 1.69 blocks per set are tops in the Big Ten and rank second nationally. As a team, the Hoosiers' 2.66 blocks/set are the third highest total in the conference and 23rd in Division-I volleyball.
Indiana's sweep of San Francisco earlier this season is arguably the best three-set blocking effort in school history. The school record for most blocks in a three-set match is 15 set back in 1996. However, the 14 rejections agaisnt USF were tallied in the new 25-point set era rather than the old 30-points per set format played in previous seasons.
SERIAL KILLERS
Erica Short leads the conference with her 5.00 kills per set pace and sits at third in the national rankings. As a team, Indiana's 13.81 average slots them sixth in the Big Ten and 33rd on the national level.
Ashley Benson is not far behind, posting a 3.66 kills/set average, good for eighth in the Big Ten. Benson has not only been effective in her attacks, but also efficient; evidenced by her .396 hitting efficiency which slots her 6th in the conference and 30th nationally.
YOU GOT SERVED
Hayley Koetter at the service line is definitely not something Indiana's opposition wants to see right now. Koetter has connected on at least one service ace in the last four matches, including a five-ace performance against Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 13). Those five aces placed Koetter into the IU record books with the second most aces ever in a three-set match.
WEEG MAKES DEBUT
Freshman Jessica Weeg made her collegiate debut at the UK Invitational, aiding the Hoosiers to wins in both matches in which she saw action. The Cincinnati, Ohio earned a start against Eastern Kentucky and recorded three kills, a dig and a block.
DYNAMIC DUO DOUBLES UP
Benson and Short both nabbed all-tournament laurels for the second consecutive weekend at the UK Invitational after being named to the All-adidas Classic team the weekend prior.
Combined, the duo racked up 103 kills, 31 blocks, and 29 digs while hitting .335 in 11 sets while in Lexington.
Players Mentioned
